C-ROADS: World Climate Simulator

C-ROADS: World Climate Simulator
https://www.climateinteractive.org/c-roads/

Climate Interactive

C-ROADS is a simplified version of a climate simulator. Its primary purpose is to help users understand the long-term climate effects (CO2 concentrations, global temperature, sea level rise) of various customized actions to reduce fossil fuel CO2 emissions, reduce deforestation, and grow more trees. Students can ask multiple, customized what-if questions and understand why the system reacts as it does.

Learn more about Teaching Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness»

See how this Simulation/Interactive supports the Next Generation Science Standards»

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Middle School

Disciplinary Core Ideas: 2

MS-ESS3.D1: Human activities, such as the release of greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels, are major factors in the current rise in Earth’s mean surface temperature (global warming). Reducing the level of climate change and reducing human vulnerability to whatever climate changes do occur depend on the understanding of climate science, engineering capabilities, and other kinds of knowledge, such as understanding of human behavior and on applying that knowledge wisely in decisions and activities.

MS-LS4.D1: Changes in biodiversity can influence humans’ resources, such as food, energy, and medicines, as well as ecosystem services that humans rely on—for example, water purification and recycling.

Cross Cutting Concepts: 5

Systems and System Models, Stability and Change, Cause and effect

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Systems and System Models, Stability and Change, Cause and effect

MS-C2.2: Cause and effect relationships may be used to predict phenomena in natural or designed systems.

MS-C4.2: Models can be used to represent systems and their interactions—such as inputs, processes and outputs—and energy, matter, and information flows within systems.

MS-C7.2: Small changes in one part of a system might cause large changes in another part.

MS-C7.3: Stability might be disturbed either by sudden events or gradual changes that accumulate over time.

MS-C7.4: Systems in dynamic equilibrium are stable due to a balance of feedback mechanisms.

Science and Engineering Practices: 7

Analyzing and Interpreting Data, Asking Questions and Defining Problems

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Analyzing and Interpreting Data, Asking Questions and Defining Problems

MS-P1.1: Ask questions that arise from careful observation of phenomena, models, or unexpected results, to clarify and/or seek additional information.

MS-P1.2: ask questions to identify and/or clarify evidence and/or the premise(s) of an argument.

MS-P1.3: Ask questions to determine relationships between independent and dependent variables and relationships in models.

MS-P4.1: Construct, analyze, and/or interpret graphical displays of data and/or large data sets to identify linear and nonlinear relationships.

MS-P4.2: Use graphical displays (e.g., maps, charts, graphs, and/or tables) of large data sets to identify temporal and spatial relationships.

MS-P4.3: Distinguish between causal and correlational relationships in data.

MS-P4.4: Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for phenomena.

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High School

Performance Expectations: 1

HS-ESS3-6: Use a computational representation to illustrate the relationships among Earth systems and how those relationships are being modified due to human activity.

Disciplinary Core Ideas: 3

HS-ESS2.D4: Current models predict that, although future regional climate changes will be complex and varied, average global temperatures will continue to rise. The outcomes predicted by global climate models strongly depend on the amounts of human-generated greenhouse gases added to the atmosphere each year and by the ways in which these gases are absorbed by the ocean and biosphere.

HS-ESS3.D1: Though the magnitudes of human impacts are greater than they have ever been, so too are human abilities to model, predict, and manage current and future impacts.

HS-LS4.D1: Humans depend on the living world for the resources and other benefits provided by biodiversity. But human activity is also having adverse impacts on biodiversity through overpopulation, overexploitation, habitat destruction, pollution, introduction of invasive species, and climate change. Thus sustaining biodiversity so that ecosystem functioning and productivity are maintained is essential to supporting and enhancing life on Earth. Sustaining biodiversity also aids humanity by preserving landscapes of recreational or inspirational value.

Cross Cutting Concepts: 10

Cause and effect, Systems and System Models, Stability and Change

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Cause and effect, Systems and System Models, Stability and Change

HS-C2.1: Empirical evidence is required to differentiate between cause and correlation and make claims about specific causes and effects.

HS-C2.2: Cause and effect relationships can be suggested and predicted for complex natural and human designed systems by examining what is known about smaller scale mechanisms within the system.

HS-C2.3: Systems can be designed to cause a desired effect.

HS-C2.4: Changes in systems may have various causes that may not have equal effects.

HS-C4.2: When investigating or describing a system, the boundaries and initial conditions of the system need to be defined and their inputs and outputs analyzed and described using models.

HS-C4.3: Models (e.g., physical, mathematical, computer models) can be used to simulate systems and interactions—including energy, matter, and information flows—within and between systems at different scales.

HS-C4.4: Models can be used to predict the behavior of a system, but these predictions have limited precision and reliability due to the assumptions and approximations inherent in models.

HS-C7.1: Much of science deals with constructing explanations of how things change and how they remain stable.

HS-C7.2: Change and rates of change can be quantified and modeled over very short or very long periods of time. Some system changes are irreversible.

HS-C7.3: Feedback (negative or positive) can stabilize or destabilize a system.

Science and Engineering Practices: 4

Asking Questions and Defining Problems, Analyzing and Interpreting Data

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Asking Questions and Defining Problems, Analyzing and Interpreting Data

HS-P1.1: Ask questions that arise from careful observation of phenomena, or unexpected results, to clarify and/or seek additional information.

HS-P1.2: ask questions that arise from examining models or a theory, to clarify and/or seek additional information and relationships.

HS-P1.3: ask questions to determine relationships, including quantitative relationships, between independent and dependent variables

HS-P4.1: Analyze data using tools, technologies, and/or models (e.g., computational, mathematical) in order to make valid and reliable scientific claims or determine an optimal design solution.

Grade Level

Middle (6-8)
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High School (9-12)
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College Lower (13-14)
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College Upper (15-16)
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Graduate/Professional
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Informal
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Topics

Deforestation
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Climate Feedbacks
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Aerosols
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Greenhouse Gases
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Climate System
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Anthropogenic Changes
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Climate Data
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Scenario Development
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Sea Level Rise
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Climate Impacts
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Climate Literacy

This Simulation/Interactive builds on the following concepts of Climate Literacy.

Click a topic below for supporting information, teaching ideas, and sample activities.

Energy Literacy

This Simulation/Interactive builds on the following concepts of Energy Literacy.

Click a topic below for supporting information, teaching ideas, and sample activities.

Notes From Our Reviewers The CLEAN collection is hand-picked and rigorously reviewed for scientific accuracy and classroom effectiveness. Read what our review team had to say about this resource below or learn more about how CLEAN reviews teaching materials
Teaching Tips | Science | Pedagogy | Technical Details

Teaching Tips

Educators will have to provide students with enough background material to help them create interesting scenarios.
Encourage students to run a set of scenarios that allows them to compare the results of different policy options.
Suggest reading the Briefing, Introduction, and FAQ (https://www.climateinteractive.org/tools/c-learn/frequently-asked-questions/) sections and decide the concepts you want the learners to emphasize.
Instructors should spend some time playing with the simulator before using it in class.
For high-school learners, more scaffolding would be needed.

About the Content

Students are able to change the fossil fuel emissions of CO₂, measured in gigatons (billions of tons) of CO₂ per year, from the three regional country groups (i.e., developed, developing A, developing B ) as a percentage of Reference Year emissions reached by 2050.
The reference scenario used here is based on the IPCC scenario know as A1F1.
There is a thorough technical reference (including data sources from IPCC AR4) for C-ROADS at https://www.climateinteractive.org/tools/c-roads/technical/.
For information on the assumptions in the C-Learn simulation, review the technical information on C-ROADS (of which C-Learn is a derivative -- the carbon cycle, forests, and climate sectors are identical).
Comments from expert scientist: The creators of this activity have successfully produced a tool that an intelligent stakeholder could use to make an informed decision.

About the Pedagogy

One of a suite of visualizations from C-Learn, this interactive can help augment research or discussions about the challenges and opportunities relating to reducing CO₂ concentrations in the atmosphere.
C-Learn allows students to run their own scenarios and examine the results. Although there are only a small number of variables that can be changed in any scenario, the number of permutations provides a wide range of policy options to explore.
There is an extensive set of instructions at https://www.climateinteractive.org/tools/c-learn/instructions/. There are popups to explain key words and concepts.
A fuller understanding entails looking at the assumptions and data embedded in the C-ROADS simulator.

This resource engages students in using scientific data.
See other data-rich activities

Technical Details/Ease of Use

Login required, but you don't need to create an account or pay anything. Simply type the login code that appears on the screen.
Easy to use and simple.

Related URLs These related sites were noted by our reviewers but have not been reviewed by CLEAN

Climate Interactive: http://www.climateinteractive.org/

Entered the Collection: April 2013 Last Reviewed: October 2016

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Middle School (see details)

Middle School

Disciplinary Core Ideas: 2

Cross Cutting Concepts: 5

Science and Engineering Practices: 7

High School (see details)

High School

Performance Expectations: 1

Disciplinary Core Ideas: 3

Cross Cutting Concepts: 10

Science and Engineering Practices: 4

Grade Level

Topics

Climate Literacy

Energy Literacy

Teaching Tips

About the Content

About the Pedagogy

Technical Details/Ease of Use

Related URLs These related sites were noted by our reviewers but have not been reviewed by CLEAN

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